Uniform Strip Model of Steel Plate Shear Walls with Different Plate Thicknesses

Abstract

The strip model, which is currently the most commonly used simplified analytical model for steel plate shear walls (SPSWs), neglects the compressive stiffness and resistance of the infill plate, thus underestimating the lateral stiffness and ultimate strength. Therefore, in this study, a more general simplified analytical model, the uniform strip model, is developed for SPSWs with different web plate thicknesses. The new model incorporates the compressive stiffness and resistance of the infill plate by adjusting the cross-sectional area and yield stress of the strips of the original strip model. The numerical simulations of experimental specimens demonstrate the validity of the new model. Parametric studies were performed to investigate the effects of the aspect ratio, plate thickness, and story number on the accuracy of the proposed model relative to a detailed shell element model. The results demonstrate that the uniform strip model agrees well with the shell element model. In comparison, the original strip model is most suitable only for what is classified as thin SPSWs, and the proposed model is a feasible tool for modeling buckling-restrained SPSWs.